Backbone

"My friend Karen Duffy, who lives with unimaginable pain has taught me so much; that my complaints are the most ridiculous in the world."
—George Clooney

"If laughter is the best medicine, Duffy shows that laughing at debility is better yet." 

—Booklist

"Model Patient is an unforgettable, illuminating story that captures Duff's indomitable joie de vivre and how she has survived."
 —Google Books 

"A cross between On the Road and The Power of Positive Thinking. Model Patient is an inspiring, life affirming and effortless poetic. And man, is it funny."
—Peter Farrelly, film director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist

"It's highly beneficial to have a book that brings hope and humor to people. Backbone is inspiring and alive, a rare book that offers insight for the patient and the people who love them."
—Ginger Spitzer, Executitive Director Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research

“Writing from the heart and the funny bone, Duff shares her raw and inspiring triumph over extreme pain and illness. Her bone-deep understanding of how to transcend suffering is a must-read. Thank you, Duff, for shedding light on the pathway to empowered living.”
—Dr. Beth Darnall, author of Less Pain, Fewer Pills: Avoid the Dangers of Prescription Opioids and Gain Control Over Chronic Pain and The Opioid-Free Pain Relief Kit

"Backbone is beautifully written, laugh out funny, and profoundly moving. It will charm and delight, the interactive graphics are brilliant. I'm wearing the "I Got Out of Bed Today Crown" as I write this review. I cannot recommend this book more highly."
—Carole Radziwill, Emmy-Award winning producer and author of the New York Times bestseller What Remains

"Karen Duffy may just be the worlds finest alchemist. Her bodacious, brilliant, JOYOUS—yes JOYOUS— book about chronic pain isn't just one of the best memoirs I've ever read, it's one of the best books I've ever read in my lifetime. Full of witty wisdoms, it's an unputdownable triumph of the spirit. I just love this book!"
—Marisa Acocella Marchetto, author of The New York Times bestselling graphic novel Ann Tenna and Cancer Vixen

"Backbone is an owner's manual for anyone whose body is behaving badly. Sensible, inspirational, and above all, hilarious. It's like sharing a hospital room with Nora Ephron."
—Edward Conlon, bestselling author of Blue Blood

"Backbone is amazing. It is a memoir of sorts—chronic pain meets hysterical laughter. Even though it's a book of how Duff lives with pain, each page is a surprise. With Backbone, she's written a book for people who are sick and people who share a sick sense of humor."
—Tabitha Soren, Fine Art Photographer and author of Fantasy Life

"Karen Duffy's Backbone: Living With Chronic Pain without Turning into One gives a new and strangely inspiring spin to Samuel Beckett's maxim, "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness." With grace and great humor, Duffy records her endurance of considerable and prolonged suffering only to reveal, through her example, how that can be diminished and marginalized in a life invested with gratitude and determination. This book should be given to all chronic complainers to cure them of their ailment.
—Christopher Cahill, Director of the American Irish Historical Society